Texas men's basketball coach Chris Beard is arrested for 'strangling family member'

Texas men's basketball coach Chris Beard has been arrested after Austin police were called to his home early Monday, where a woman claims she was 'assaulted and strangled' by the 49-year-old. 

Beard was booked for third-degree assault at 4:18am local time, police have confirmed to DailyMail.com. The charge is listed as: 'Assault on family/household member impede breath circulation.' 

He has posted a $10,000 bond and was subsequently released from Travis County Jail. An arrest affidavit is not currently available, according to the Travis County Clerk's office. 

Beard's attorney, Perry Minton, told the Austin American-Statesman that his client 'is 100 percent innocent of these charges.' 

'He should never have been arrested,' Minton told the newspaper. 'The complainant wants him released immediately and all charges dismissed. It is truly inconceivable.' 

Austin police say they took a 'disturbance hotshot' call after midnight and officers were dispatched to the 1900 block of Vista Lane in a residential area of Texas' capital city. Beard has a listed address on that street. 

A 'hotshot' call is described on the department's website as an 'incidents which are in progress [that] are an immediate threat to life and/or public safety.'

The Longhorns are currently ranked second overall in the Associated Press poll at 7-1, and are scheduled to host in-state rival Rice on Monday night.

Beard is currently in his second season at Texas after leaving Texas Tech in 2021.

The school has released a brief statement following the arrest: 'The university is aware of the situation regarding Chris Beard. We are continuing to gather information and monitoring the legal process.' 

Beard and his wife, Leslie, have three daughters, according to his bio from Angelo State University, where he coached from 2013 until 2015.

Since then, the 49-year-old has coached at Little Rock and Texas Tech, where he was named the AP National Coach of the Year in 2019 as he guided the Red Raiders to the NCAA title game. Ultimately Texas Tech would lose to Virginia, but the tournament run would help Beard to sign a reported seven-year, $35 million deal with the Texas athletic department in April of 2021.

Beard and the Longhorns went 22–12 last season before losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. 

He could be fired for cause as a consequence of his arrest, meaning he would not be owed the remainder of his contract. 

If he is suspended, Longhorns associate head coach Rodney Terry is a logical choice to step in, given his experience coaching at UTEP and Fresno State. 

This is the second arrest to hit the Texas men's basketball program this year, following Arterio Morris, who faces a misdemeanor family violence charge following an alleged incident with his former girlfriend. Morris is due in court for a hearing in the case on Wednesday.